Dave Bautista has leveraged his popularity in Guardians of the Galaxy into becoming one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood, but now it’s time to say goodbye to the character. After almost a decade, and appearances in three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, a holiday special, and cameos in some other Marvel Cinematic Universe installments, Bautista says he is ready to put the role of Drax behind him. In a new interview with GQ, Bautista sounded pretty relieved to put long makeup sessions behind him, and hopes that he can embrace some roles with a little more nuance.
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Most of the cast members of Guardians of the Galaxy have said they were pretty definitively done with their Marvel roles after Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 drops later this year. Director James Gunn is leaving the franchise (and the studio) behind, and it seems likely at least one or two of the antiheroes won’t make it out of the threequel alive.
“I’m so grateful for Drax. I love him,” Bautista told the magazine. “But there’s a relief [that it’s over]. It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy—it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.”
Drax is one of the Marvel characters who would be the easiest to recast if needed, since in the comics, his regenerative powers have seen him revived from death or near-death more than once…complete with different appearances and power sets.
Bautista is in the spotlight now for his appearance in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which is currently streaming on Netflix and has awards season buzz.
Guardians of the Galaxy newcomers include Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, The Suicide Squad‘s Daniela Melchior, Superstore alum Nico Santos, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm‘s Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog. The movie will also feature the return of Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Dave Bautista (Drax), Zoe Saldaña (Gamora), Sean Gunn (Kraglin/on-set Rocket), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), and Vin Diesel (Groot).
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens in theaters on May 5th, 2023.
